7. Brussels Sprouts With Maple Syrup, Cranberries, and Feta

The baked Brussels sprouts are good, but the sour and sharp cranberry-feta sprouts are much better.

Although Massachusetts is generally associated with cranberry production, Wisconsin is a true leader.

The country grew 55% of the world's cranberry supply, and most of the family owned cranberries. Cutler Cranberry, the farm I visited, is in the sixth generation of family ownership.

Lisa, one of the current owners of Cutler Cranberry, gracefully took me around the farm for a day, lent me her wader (the sexy rubber boots I wore in the photo above), and shared all about the cranberry growing process with me. I must have some misunderstandings.

First and foremost, I think that cranberries are grown in water.

Not! Cranberries actually grow on dry ground in large sandy plots called beds.

The water is used at harvest only.

The bed is inundated and the vines are shaken (or "tortured" - that's the tractor in the photo above).